A Promise of Tomorrow
by Vader's Fallen Angel
Summary: When Leia decides to disobey Bail and talk to Darth Vader, the consequences are not what anyone expects.


I don't understand why I'm here. I mean, I know I'm from the Royal House of Organa, but my dad should be here instead. He's been with Mom whole lot lately because she's sick. But even if he's too busy, I shouldn't be here. I'm too young.

I hate it when people say that, you know. I guess because when they say that it means they're not taking me seriously. I'm too young to stay up late. I'm too young to be present at the gathering. I'm too young to sit with the adults. I'm too young to know what they talk about behind the study doors. I'm too young to have my own swoop bike. I'm too young to take responsibility for my own actions. After all, I'm only a child. Pat me on the head and chuckle a bit then move on. They said that I was a child last year too. I've grown so much since then. Now I'm six, not five. But knowing my parents, they'll say that I'm still too young when I'm seven, or even eight! I can't imagine even my parent's telling me I'm too young when I'm ten, but that's four whole years away. I want to be old enough now!

Supposedly I have my whole future in front of me. That's the good thing about being young, they say, you always have the promise of tomorrow.

The doors open and I'm brought through all sorts of twisty, turny passages. I try to remember the way so I can return on my own. I don't want to be led everywhere like a baby. But I'm soon lost. I do get to look out the windows, though. It's morning. I've never been on Coruscant before. I didn't know their sunrises were so red. It's sort of like blood I think. Winter would say I'm being fanciful, but if the poets and story-tellers can use that kind of language than so can I. It's only fair. They say sunrises like that mean an innocent will be killed on that day, but I am a princess and don't believe in such things.

One of the guards in red opens up the door. I thank him very politely. When I do that to the guards at home they usually smile. I can't tell if he does beneath the helmet or not. I think he does. I like to think people are nice.

I enter the throne room and bow before the emperor. I'm not sure if I bow right. I hope I do. I don't know why I'm here but I want to make my parents proud. When I return home I can tell them how well I behaved. Then they'll be oh so proud and my mom will smile at me, warm, and my dad will tell me I'm big now and can be trusted and I'm not always too young.

"Your Highness," I say before I stand up straight.

I look around the room. I want to see if Lord Vader is here. For some reason I feel comfortable around him. I don't know why though. Dad says he's a bad, dangerous man. He says not to talk to him and stay away from him. I just think he's lonely. I talked to him before. The first time he was very surprised. But he talked back to me. The best part is he never said I was too young. He talked to me like I was smart and an adult like him. He always called me princess and not like some other people do it. Some people kind of rush through it like they know they've got to say it, but don't really care. Some people say it like they're sort of using the title to remind me that I'm not as powerful as a queen. Compressing I think it's called. Or maybe condescending. I get very big words mixed up sometimes. Some people are even more annoying than the other two. They put it with my name as if it _is_ my name. Like I'm Princess Leia and will always be Princess Leia and don't exist outside of being Princess Leia. You know, like I'm not a girl named Leia with a title, but that I am the title. Vader said princess like it meant something. I know that he calls everyone by his or her title. I think it's because he's a Lord and people with titles always have to be polite.

I asked Lord Vader why he seemed to like talking to me more than other people. He said it was because I wasn't trying to get anything out of him. He also said I reminded him of someone he once knew, but wouldn't tell me who. I told Dad because I thought that if he knew that I reminded Vader of someone that he wouldn't be worried. Instead he got even more scared. I know what people feel. I don't know why but no one else seems to be able to. That's how I know Vader is lonely, and I think a little sad.

He's not here. I knew that before looking around. I always know when he's near me. But I wanted to see anyways. I like to be around him. There's something right about it.

"Princess Leia," I don't like how Emperor Palpatine says that. The words kind of slither out through his teeth. They creep around me and it feels like I'm being cocooned like when I'm falling asleep but this blanket isn't warm but cold and slimy. I'm reminded of a fairy tale where the good girl always has jewels fall from her mouth and the bad one has bugs and snakes and lizards come from hers. I think the emperor must have done something really, really bad to have his _words_ be slithery.

"Were you looking for my faithful servant my dear?" he seems to be amused by that. "You are not afraid of him, are you?"

"No your Highness."

"I heard that you had spoken to him, though I doubt you were encouraged to do so." He smiles and I get the urge to squirm but I don't because I'm the princess of Alderaan and princesses aren't scared. "I must admit I was quite curious about the… _affect_ you had on our Dark Lord."

"He said I reminded him of someone your Highness."

"Yes. He told me the same when I inquired." I like the word inquired. It's very adult sounding and I decided I'm going to use it instead of asked from now on. "Tell me, did he inform you who you reminded him of?"

"No your Highness."

"I see." He looks at me with yellow eyes. There's something I don't understand. I know I'm missing something, but I'm not sure what. He leans back and watches me for a moment.

"I am afraid Lord Vader is far from this place. I have insisted that he take a bit of a _vacation_ to Naboo. There are plenty of things there to hold his interest." Dad told me to always pay attention to someone's tone of voice, but I can't figure out what his means. "Plenty of… _memories_. Have you ever been to Naboo my dear?"

"I- no your Highness."

"My home planet is a beautiful place. Your birth mother loved it dearly."

"My birth mother?"

"Yes. It was her home planet too as I am sure you are aware."

"No your Highness, I wasn't." My mind is racing. I don't know much about my mother. I think though that she must have been beautiful and kind and all sorts of things. I wonder if Emperor Palpatine knew her.

"I did indeed my dear." I didn't know the emperor could read minds.

"Will you tell me about her, your Highness?"

"You first my dear. What do you know of your birth parents?" He smiles. I don't like his smile very much but try to get rid of the thought now that I know he can read minds. It wouldn't be good for me to insult him. Especially when I'm his guest. Mom would be horrified and Dad would be so disappointed. I have to make sure I do well so that when I return and tell them about it they'll be very proud of me.

"I'm afraid I don't know very much your Highness. I only really know her name."

"Yes. Padme Amidala you told my hand." That doesn't make any sense. I've never seen the emperor before and I know I didn't talk to either of his hands. I know that I'm supposed to look in someone's eyes or at their face when talking to them. Emperor Palapatine laughs again. "It is an expression my dear. I merely meant that you had told dear Mara all about it."

I remember Mara. I saw her at the palace and since she wasn't acting like all the other children usually do and being all bowy and stuff around me I decided to spend time with her. She was very pretty, tough too. She asked a lot of questions though. Then she left and joined up with somebody else. There was someone watching her the whole time. I could feel them nearby. But I didn't want to scare her and make her go away so I didn't say anything. But she left with him later so I don't suppose it mattered at all in the end. Maybe it did though. We always act different when adults are watching.

"I had a blood test done on you my dear. You have quite an interesting parentage."

"Thank you your Highness."

"Tell me my dear child, what do you know of ruling?"

I know that I have to tell him a lot. After all, I am a princess. If I don't know anything about ruling than my parents have done a bad job at raising me. I don't want him to think that. And then they'll be embarrassed too. I begin to talk about not showing fear and not being unsure and making responsible decisions but before I can talk about protecting the rights of the people he interrupts me. You're not supposed to do that unless it's an emergency. An emergency is not when you want something, no matter how much you want it now, but when someone's hurt or going to get hurt or something like that. But I don't correct him. You're not supposed to do that either. I corrected a boy once when he and his family visited from whatever planet they ruled, Harpies or Hapes or something like that, and he was awful embarrassed about it and Mom told me not to do that again. I can't wait to tell my parents how I have better manners than the emperor.

"You understand my dear how some things have to happen for the greater good? And that sometimes rulers have to make decisions that hurt some people to help others."

"Yes your Highness." Dad explained this to me when I asked why some people have to go to jail. It doesn't undo what they did, but protects other people.

"I am sorry my dear, but your parentage makes you… dangerous. I must say I am glad you understand."

"Thank you your Highness." I think he just said good things about my parents because I know so much. But I don't understand the first part of what he said. I think though that I shouldn't ask. This sounds like one of those questions that I'm too young to know the answer to and I don't want him to say he'll explain when I'm older because he's been treating me almost like an adult the whole time and I don't want to ruin it.

"Your birth father is, well, let us just say we can't have anyone having undo _influence_ on him. He turned to the Dark for love; we can't have him returning to the Light for the same reason. His and Amidala's child would be the only reason for him to turn against me. I really can't let that happen my dear. He can kill me for hate, but never for love." He gives that smile again.

I'm not sure what to say. I know I have to say something. I get the feeling, and my feelings are always right, that this is the reason I'm here, but I still don't understand. The guard outside my room said one of the emperor's men had come and taken me. I just remember falling asleep and waking up in a different room. But that only tells me how I'm here, not why. But either way I have to say the right thing so when I get home my parents can be proud of me and know that I'm not too young. He looks at one of his guards. I'm glad he isn't focused on me for the moment. I need to figure out what I'm supposed to do.

"Kill her."

What? The guard raises his staff thing with two points. He comes toward me and I try to get away but another grabs me. My arm hurts and I try to kick him but it doesn't work. He holds both arms tight and I'm fighting but someone else grabs my hair and pulls it back. It hurts. I have to look up and watch the first one moving toward me. And the blade is red and glowing and the guard pulls it back to swing it and I don't understand! I'm still a child. I'm supposed to have my whole life in front of me. I'm supposed to live and help others and laugh and be with my mom when she dies and pick more apple blossoms because they're my favorite flower and I love to wind them in my hair and always wanted them for both my wedding and my funeral which isn't supposed to be _now_ and I'm supposed to stop being too young to stay up late and to know what they mean when they close the study doors and talk about an Alliance of some type and, and, and I don't understand! What's so wrong with me that I deserve this? What did my birth father do to rob me of the promise of tomorrow?

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On Tatooine a boy wakes up screaming and crying. He can't tell his aunt what's wrong only that something _is_. He says, finally, that it's too dark, but isn't talking about his room. He knows it's the middle of the night and that it's always dark at this time, but he also knows that, somehow, everything just got darker.

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A different, older, boy suddenly starts. He has a vague feeling for a moment that he lost something, but pushes the thought away. He grew up on the streets which means he lost his childhood fast. He has no time to deal with hazy, fanciful feelings. Besides, he needs to get this fixed or the captain will have his head.

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Darth Vader stands before his wife's grave. His master sent him here with no orders save to have a vacation. After all, hadn't he always found Naboo a relaxing place?

He had, once, but that was a lifetime ago. Now all the memories are bittersweet.

The grave only says one name, but there are two buried here. His wife and his child. Two innocents murdered for crimes not their own, dead for his sins. His beautiful bride tricked by Obi-Wan. And the little one, who never really got a chance to live, never got to experience a tomorrow.

Vader shakes himself from contemplation and looks up. Absentmindedly he notes that the sunset is a blood red. According to legend that means an innocent has been killed this day. But he is a Sith Lord and does not believe in such things. He turns away; cape brushing the apple blossoms he had felt compelled to leave on their grave this time though he had always left white carnations before. Some part of him notices that they are already dead though they were very much alive this morning. But he convinces himself to pay no mind. Lord Vader learned long ago that no one was given the promise of tomorrow.

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A/N: for those who want to know a white carnation means remembrance and an apple blossom means promise.

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A/N 2: I've had quite a few requests for a sequel. I will not be continuing this. However, if you'd like to know what I imagine happening next, check out Duplicity by Mina1. Take away the spaces: http:/ www. fanfiction. net/s/ 2895182/1/ Duplicity This was not intended to be a presequal nor did I take inspiration from this story, so there will be continuality errors, but the basic idea is the same.


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